An ambition to develop a large-scale solar farm on two sides of the A1(M) across farmland the equivalent area to 153 football pitches has attracted objections before a planning application has been lodged.

Residents in Brompton on Swale, near Richmond, have written to North Yorkshire Council to highlight concerns over the loss of 82 hectares of farmland as the authority considers whether Brompton Solar would need to undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment as part of the planning process.

The firm wants to develop a 39.3MW solar farm, about 3.5km south of Scotch Corner, near another large solar farm, which was approved in 2022 by Richmondshire District Council amid controversy, with some objectors claiming it would be a “blot on the landscape” at a gateway to the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Councillors approved the scheme covering an expanse of farmland after concluding its public benefits outweighed the harm it would create, generating enough power for 11,445 homes and offsetting up to 21,250 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

The Brompton on Swale ambition has emerged after senior North Yorkshire politicians, including Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake, have raised major concerns over moves to locate solar farms on good quality farmland, with the Conservative former business minister saying the need to produce food on it rendered such schemes “bonkers”.

In papers submitted to the authority over the Brompton on Swale scheme, the firm said the design, scale and location of the development as well as the characteristics of the site and surrounding environment, made it “very unlikely that the proposals will have a significant impact on natural or designated cultural heritage assets”.

The firm said the development site comprised “several large fields of lower-grade agricultural land” and would function as a solar farm for 40 years, after which the site would revert to farmland.

A study examining the quality of the farmland, which was commissioned by the developer, concludes the farmland should be graded 3b, a rating for lesser quality soil, before adding “there may be increasing opportunities in the near future for moderate yields of less demanding horticultural crops”.

In letters to the authority, objectors have questioned the rating, highlighting “the use of the land to grow oil seed rape suggests a land grading of 3a”, which is land of a higher quality which can consistently yield a reasonable output of various crops and grasses with appropriate management.

In one letter of objection, a resident wrote it would appear developers “don’t understand that to take good land means no food in the future…”

The authority’s leader, Councillor Carl Les, whose division includes Brompton on Swale, said while there was “a clear requirement to become energy secure”, every application would be treated on its merits and against planning criteria.

He added: “The council has a policy of wanting to protect food security, so we’re not keen on developments that go on high quality agricultural land even though there are some schemes where you can retain an element of agriculture for the 25 years the panels are in place by allowing sheep to graze underneath them.”